Microphotographic apparatus



Oct. 11, 1949. E.k J, COOK 2,484,448

MICROPHOTOGRAPHI C APPARATUS l Filed May 13, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 27 f2s g /23 27 y 4 /6 1N V EN TOR.

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K n HYD/ere# J 600A ATT RNEYS 0t11,1949 E. .1. cooK 2,484,448

MICROPHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS Filed May 15, 1946v 4 sheets-shea 2 x Fig l F INVENToR. Ere/"eff J 60o/f' TTORNEYS Oct. 11, 1949. E. J. cooK MICROPHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 1:5, 194e INVENToR. 1/ere# .j 600A ATTORNEYS Oct. 11, 1949. E, COCK 2,484,448

MICROPHOTOGRAPHC- APPARATUS Filed May 13, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

RNEYS Patented oet. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MTcRoPHo'roGRArHIc APPARATUS Everett J. Cook, Toledo, Ohio Application May 13, 1946, serial No. 669,399

4 Claims.

This invention relates to microphotographic apparatus.

Various styles of cameras and projecting equipexample a different letter, bill, invoice, or other record, or a successive page of a standard refer- Cil ence work or a different drawing or any other y data of which it is desired tokeep a permanent record.

When this type of film is employed for the recording of individual items, it is often necessary to run through a considerable length of the lm in order to iind and examine or reproduce the Aparticular item to which reference is desired.

Another difficulty with the continuous strip'V iilm when employed for data recording purposes lies in the fact that in order to insert additional items into the alphabetical or numerical series, for example, it is necessary to cut and resplice the iilm and there is no way of indexing themay terial so that the newly inserted material' quickly can be found.

It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for the recording of data or reference works photographically in such a manner that they can be accurately indexed for rapid reference when desired.

It is a `further object of this invention to provide an apparatus which can be used for photographically recording data and also for reproducing data to its original size or for viewing such data without reproduction.

It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus for photographically recording reference material on standard size films with accurate and simple indexing means.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus designed' to permit the photographic recording of reference material in greatly reduced size so that a large number of different items can be recorded on a single standard sized lm and the group of references included on each iilm as well as each reference within the group,

adequately indexed for quick and accurate reference.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an apparatus'which will permit the rapid location ,of `a desired reference item and its Viewing or reproduction at will without any modification in the apparatus or without requiring the use of additional apparatus.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a single apparatus in which the functions of photographic reduction, photographic reproduction and viewing of reference material are com-- bined so that through'the use ofthe one machine it is possible to perform all operations except the chemical steps, which are required for the microphotographic system of reference recording.

This invention consists in an apparatus for indexing" sheets of film inan optical system provided with means for employing the system either toenlarge or reduce images of the reference material being handled.

In the drawings:

Figure I is 'an isometric view of a microphotographic apparatus embodying the invention.

Figure II is a front view in elevation on a slightly enlarged scale of the device shown in Figure I, certain parts being broken away.

Figure III is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus embodying the invention and shown on a further enlarged scale.

Figure IV is a still further enlarged view, partly in section and partly in elevation and taken substantially from the position indicated by the line IV-IV of Figure III.

Figure V is a fragmentary detailed view taken substantially from the position indicated by the line V-V of Figure IV.

Figure VI is a fragmentary detailed View taken substantially from the position indicated by the line VI-VI of Figure IV.

Figure VII is a still further enlarged fragmentary View in section of a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Figure III.

Figure VIII is an isometric view somewhat vschematic in nature of an alternative form of construction of `certain parts of an apparatus ern-- bodying the invention.

A microphotographic apparatus embodying the instant invention can be most easily mounted in `a rectangular housing I which has a hinged frame Such a film 4 which is illustrated in the drawings has been arbitrarily shown as being four inches by five inches in size. The film 4 is carried by an open frame 5- Which comprises four tubular members 6, 1, 8 and 9 which are joined at each vrof their corners (see ralso rFigure VII) by anangle brace I which has offset arms. The sleeves 1, 8 and 9 each carry a clip II which with the bodl7 of its respective sleeve forms a slide into which the film 4 is inserted.

The frame is supported by a pair of U-shaped guides I2 and I3 which are associated with the sleeves 1 and 9 and 6 and 8 respectively. The guide I2 is erected on a slide I4 (see also Figure V) which is horizontally slidable in a way I5 that extends transversely acrossthe rearfofthe housing I and is secured thereto. The slide I4-is lieldon the way I 5 yby a retainer I6 secured to the way I5 and extending into a groove I1 cut in the top ofA the slide I4. A rack I8 is cut inthe front edge of the slide I4 and is in mesh witha'driving'gear I 9. The gear I S is rotatably journaled'onfa stud: which is secured in an ear 2I located on the front of the way I5. A pulley 22"is"rrioun'ted'upon the gear I9 and concentrically secured thereto. The pulley 22 is rotated bya drive ribbon 23 which is xed to the pulley 22-by a screw 24 (Figure V) and which also is secured to" a' similar-pulley 25' (Figure lII) mounted on 'and' rotatable withr aA hand wheel 26 locatedneartle' frontofthe'housing I. The hand wheelZS'isjOurialedon-a stud 21 and extends through-a s'l't'2`8'in the front wall of the housing I below the hinged'frame'2 so'that it can be manually operatedfto rotate by means of the ribbon 23, the gearmIS' and move the slide I 4 back and'forth across theapparatus. -'Ihe-ribbon 23 being secured to the .pulleys-22 and 25 insures a positive drive between th'ehandv wheel 26 and the slide I4. YThe e`nti1fe=movement of -the slide I4 is effected byvrotationof approximately 180 of the hand wheel 26 and-thetwofpulleysZ f and 25. q The hand wheel 26 has a series-ofindicia-29 (Figures II and VIII) which cooperate jwitlr an index 30 to showthe position of thesguide t2` andY the film 4 horizontally. ,Y

The guide I3 is mounted in va-verticallymovable slide 3l which is similar -tovthe slide I-4 and is similarly mounted ina verticalfway-32secured=to the left side of thehonsingd vvThe -slide 3| \has'a rack 33 cut in its frontsedge whioh-is-in-meshg.

with a drive gear -34 and-drivenby-a'ribbon-15 fixed to a pair of pulleys-36landf31- The'pulley 36 is attached tothe gear-Stand the' pulley-31 is attached to a hand wheel 38 jour-naledfsim-i'larly to the hand wheel`36 and extending` through yaslot 39 in the front wall of the housinglIof'the-'left side of the frame 2. A seiiesofindicia 40 is secured on the periphery` of thelhandwheel and cooperates withan index y`4I 'tofsh'ow the vertical position of the guideft3=-on tlfiefrariey 5 and the film 4 carried thereby.

Thus, by turning'the'handwheels 26' and '38' the guides I2 and ISfare-m'o'ved ho'rizontally'or vertically as the case'may-bef.andtle'frameS' is slid in the corresponding "direction thus Iindex;

ing the lm 4 tothe positionsindicated'lbyfthe indexes 30 and 4I and thefiri'diciaf'29 1'and'f4l1. The construction just described is designed for use with a nlm measuring four-finches--by'veinchs and divided into twentyrows'ff twenty' frames 1 each or a total offour'hundredfarries-perinlm. Therefore, there are twenty 'numbers each series of indicia and twenty? horizontal and twenty vertical positions.

Figure VIII illustratesaE inodiiaton-of-the in- 70 ribbons 42 and 43 passes over a pair of idler pulleys 46 and is connected to its respective driving pulley 41 or 48 by a series of pins 49 in the periphery of the pulley which cooperate with a series of holes 50 punched in the driving ribbon 42 or 43. This construction eliminates the racks and gears shown in the first modication but otherwise operates identically with such first modification.

The optical system of the apparatus consti" tutingthe instant-invention consists of a rectangular funnel 5I (Figure III) which at its open forward end is equal in area to the frame 2 and embraces such frame. The rear end of the funnel 5Iissubstantiallysmaller in size and is secured to":a itransverse frame 52 which extends across the housing I near 'its rear. A pair of projection lensesiilaremounted in a cell 54 which is movable on-theoptical axis of the lenses 53 forwardly and rearwardly. A pair of condensing lenses 55 are mounted in a-lens tube icoaxially with the lenses 53' and' extending through the rear wall' of the housing I. lA lamp housing. 51 is mounted on the rear exterior of the'h'ousing I`. A projection lamp 58 '-is supported withinthehousing 51 by an adjustablelamp bracket'SBI The lens tube 56 leads from the'interior ofthe lamp housing51 into the interior off the housing .I and its forward end is enclosed by afunnel v611 (see Valso Figure VII) having-an open rectangular front end the size of oneof the iframes onthe nlm 4. The funnel e2 thus :acts as .airaming device for the projection system. The `condensing lenses '55, .the open forwardendof thefunnel, and the projection lenses53lall-have acommon .optical axis.

u'he hinged frame 2` which forms the front closureof thehousing I .consistsofa rectangular frame 'I inwwh'ich maybemounted la sheet of glass 62 anda three-sectioncover .83 which (has springlatehes Lengageab'le with slots'65 cut in thefram'el ltoholdithecover ainplace.

-A--presser Sfoot 4isprovided to holdthe lm 4*in-the-projection.-plane `ofthe lenssystem of the'apparatus. The presser-footf has a rectangularopeningthe samesizeandin line with theiopen for-ward .end'of the funnel 6U. The presser foot-Miserie arm of azbracket 61 which is-swiveled .on a -.pin=68tmounted in two llugs 69 formed on the lower side of the transverse frame 52. A;springv-1ll-iscoiledV around the pin 68and urgesthepresserioot GG'against'the lm 4. At the loWermost endcof the bracket 61 there is formedapair' of'det'ents 11| and 12. The detent 1I is ,pressed against the `periphery of a ratchet wheel 1-3 whichf is mounted on the upper end of a tubularshaft14-the-lower end of which is secured to androtatablewwith'.thepulley'22 and gear I9. 'Ihusgwhen'the'hand wheel 26 isfturned and the slide I4 and its guide I Zimoved'across the appaatus th`e"detent^1I isf swung back and forth bythe". p'eripheryfof :the' ratchet wheel 13 to disengage" the presser"footIlElfrom'thefilm 4 when the film 4 is movin'gandto reengage the presser foot-'after'thelflmthas "been moved to its new position. Because "of 'th'e f scallop-like periphery of the z'ratchet Swheel i13'lthe horizontal motion taksplaceinislort steps rather than in one smooth niove-ient-'anfdithus the Apresser foot is disengaged 'each ti-inethatthe lm is moved.

"Ilf'i'ether detent 12 is vengaged with a ratchet wheel I5-which is'inounted on al horizontal tubular shaft 1B secured to the hub of a pinion 11 journal'donfthes'ide wall-'of the housing I by a stud' 181an`d` in.rneshfwith'A thel vertical vmovement Adri've'fgeaii. 34. i Thus, when the vertical movement agregan;A

in purpose to the presser foot 65, is mounted on the ends of two arms '80 and 8l which are hinged on brackets 32 from the bottom and side of the housing I respectively. The other endof the arms 86 and 8l are formed into detents 83y and'84 eachof which is engaged with a series of teeth 85 or 35 cut in the front redges of the slides il and 45 respectively. Since the presser foot 19 is attached to both ofthe arms BU'and 8| movement of either of them swingsit `,away from.4

the hlm ll and one of themmoves each time one of the hand wheels is rotated. In orderv to positively position the hand wheelswith respect to the lm frame 5 they are equipped with detents.

8l which engage their peripheries to cause their rotation in steps, and to hold 'the detents 83 and 8d on the crests of the teeth 85 and 86.

The funnel 5l which might be called the bellows of the apparatus is ofisetabout half way between the front and back and in the offset there is 1ocated a tubular lamp 88 (Figure III) which serves to brilliantly illuminate the forward end of the funnel 5I and any reference material which may be held against the glass t2 to be photographed. When the device is to be employed as a reduction camera it is necessary to prevent any light which is reiiected from the reference material being photographed from entering the lens cell 54 and fogging the lm while it is being moved from one frame to a successive frame. This is accomplished by means of a shutter 89 (Figures III and VII) which is secured on the end of a shaft 90 extending horizontally into the housing I and funnel 5l. A shutter actuating knob 9| and indicator 92 is mounted on the exterior end of the shaft 9i). An overcenter device comprising a crank 93 and resiliently extending rod 94 is secured to the shaft 9G to insure its being either entirely open or tightly shut. The shutter 89 is lined with a light trapping material such as felt.

The operation oi an apparatus as a camera will now be described. rIhe frame 2 is swung forwardly and upwardly into horizontal position (it is hinged along its upper horizontal edge) and held there by a latch 95 (Figure III). A letter or other reference material to be reproduced (indicated by the numeral 95 in Figure II) is laid on the glass 62 and covered by the three-section cover 63 which has an inner lining of, for example, felt dl'. The latches 64 are eng-aged in their slots (i5 and the frame 2 swung back down into its closed position. A fresh unexposed sheet of iilm is then inserted through the door 3 into the film frame 5 and the shutter 89 is closed. The lm is then indexed by the hand wheels 26 and 38 to, for example, position !-I, rst frame of the first row. The lamp` t8 is illuminated and the shutter 89 opened for a sufficient length of time to properly expose the lm. A second reference is inserted in the frame 2. The lm indexed to the second position, for example 2-|, second frame of the iirst row and the second exposure made. This is continued until all of the reference material has been photographed, changing the films as necessary and recording on each of the reference data or an auxiliary index the position on the film and the iilm number where each of the reference materials has been photographed. In this manner at the rate of four hundred sheets per nlm, large voluminous files and references may be recorded in minute easily locatable form.

lWhen it is desired to use the apparatus for reference the location of the desired data is found in an auxiliary index and the particular film containing the data is inserted through the door 3 into the lm frame li. When used in this manner the three-part cover t3 and its hlm lining are laid aside and the glass 53 is replaced with a sheet of frosted glass. The film is then indexed by the hand wheels 2E and dii to the desired frame, for example lill i, e. the fourteenth frame and the nineteenth row. The projection lamp 5S is then illuminated and the film projected onto the ground glass screen where it can be studied as desired.

If it is desired to make reproductions of any of the reference material which has been located it only is necessary to re-insert the clear glass 62 and place a sheet of sensitized paper thereon holding it in place with the three-part cover 63. The projection lamp 58 can then be illuminated for a period of time to expose the sensitized paper and the paper can then be developed to provide a reproduction of the material recorded in substantially its original size.

The embodiments of the invention which have been described may be modied to meet various requirements.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. In a microphotographic device having an optical system with a fixed axis, multiple-framelm holding and indexing mechanism comprising, in combination, a combination presser and single-frame mask centered on the axis of said optical system on an image plane thereof, an open, frame-like lm holder, the area of the iilm held therein being a predetermined whole multiple of the area of a single frame, a pair of vertically extending horizontally translatable guides slidably engaged with the vertical edges of said lm holder, a pair of horizontally extending vertically translatable guides slidably engaged with the horizontal edges of said nlm holder, separate independent manually operable means for selectively positioning said nlm holder horizontally and vertically relative to the axis of the optical system, movable ratchet means actuated by said manually operable means for providing a series of stops corresponding to the number of frames horizontally and vertically, respectively, on a lm in said nlm holder and stop means engaging said ratchet means and carrying said com.- bination presser and mask, whereby engagement of said stop means with said ratchet means at any stop position on said ratchet means moves said combination presser and mask against said film.

2. Indexing mechanism for a microphoto- ,3 graphic device having a fixed axis optical system and a multiple-rame--iilm holding device movable horizontally and vertically in a plane perpendicular to the axis oi the optical system comprising, in combination, separate manually operable means for selectively positioning said film holder horizontally and vertically relative to the axis of the optical system, a movable ratchet means for each of said manually operable means for providing a series of stops corresponding to the number of frames horizontally andver'tically, respectively, on anim in said film holder, afcombin'ati'on -presserand single-frame mask, :and fstop means 'engaging said ratchet means and carrying said combination presser and tmask, whereby engagement -of said stop means with said lratchet means atany stop positionon saidfratchet means moves -said combination presser andmasklagainstsaid lrn.

v3. In a microphotographic Vdevice having a xedaxis optical system, a multiple-frame sheet lm holder movable horizontally and vertically on van image Yplane of the 'optical system and separate'manually'operable means for securing movement of said-holder in each direction, in combination, an indexing mechanism for said lm holder comprising, -a .manually operablecontrol .having a frame index for moving said lm holder horizontally, a second manually operable control having a lframe index for moving said film holder vertically, -ratchet means associated with` each -of said manually operable means for providing a series of stops corresponding in spacingto the horizontal and Vertical dimensions, respectively, of a Isingle frame, a combination presser and single-frame mask centered on the optical axis, stop means `engaging said ratchet means and carrying said-combination presser and mask, whereby engagement of said stop means with said ratchet mean-s at any stop position on said ratchet means moves said combination presser andimask againstY said lm.

4. A combination film presser and single frame maskdevice for a microphotographic device hav- B ing 'al fixed optical axis; a vmultiple frame lm, separate mechanisms .'for 'moving said film horizontally andiverticallyindependently in an image plane of theroptlcalsystem and ratchet means associated .with each of said mechanisms for providing a .series of stops corresponding in spacingzto thehorizuntalfand verticaldimensions, respectively, of a single frame, that consists in a at sheet -havingamaperture centered on the optical axis, fthe aperture being the size of a single frame, Vand-#that :ismounted upon a stop means-engaged with :both of said ratchet means, whereby engagement of said stop means with said Vratchet ,fmeansfatfany stop position on said ratchet means moves ,said vcombination presser and maskagainst saiddilm.

J. CQOK.

REFERENCES CITED The :followingreferencesare of record in the l'e: of thsfpatent:

UNITED. STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,882,293 -Mue1ler Oct. l1, 1932 2,019,764 lOgden Nov. 5, 1935 2,106,814 :Romer Feb. 1, 1938 2,275,519 Eriederichs Mar. 10, 1942 2,3695981 Reyniers Feb. 20, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 469,284 GreatBritain July 22, 1937 

